Accreditation Issues

 We received our January Update last week (January 16th) and were given some sweet pictures of the boys. I hope you enjoy the adorable photos I put onto this update...!!! We were also given the updates on their growth. It was fantastic to hear that the boys are well and that they are continuing to grow!

Judah Elysee

birth date:   5-Oct-2011

weight:    10.50 kg--23.1 pounds

height:     75.0 cm--29.5 inches

head circumference:    46.5 cm--18.3 inches

Elijah James

birth date:    5-Oct-2011

weight:   10.40 kg--22.9 pounds

height:    74.0 cm--29.1 inches

head circumference:    46.5 cm--18.3 inches

We also received a bit of information about the progress on our adoption. We are still in Parquet but our judgement has been granted! We have now moved on to second legalization! We are so pleased that we keep on progressing!

There was also an update on the transition to the Hague Convention. Haiti is transitioning its adoptions to follow the Hague Convention. This means that they will begin following a whole new set of rules...and one of the first changes involves identifying which adoption agencies they are willing to work with. They identified that they were going to find 4 or 5 agencies. Then all adoptions from Haiti will have to go through those agencies. When we received our update...our agency still did not know if they were going to be considered accredited.

We went to an adoption support group on the next evening and felt like all was right in the world...and so encouraged by the other international adoption stories that people were sharing at the meeting. It was made very clear to us, however, that most of the couples had several ups and downs along the way. I began to wonder when our next down would be, and I prayed for God's strength for when that would happen. I never dreamed that it would happen the next day.

In the afternoon on January 18th, I received an email from Children of All Nations that indicated that they had not been selected to be accredited under the Hague Convention. They were unsure of why they were not selected and wrote that they plan to appeal. They are trying to find out exactly what this change means for all of their families that are in process with an adoption from Haiti. This information hit me really hard. There were many tears initially, and I am so thankful for a fabulously positive husband and a sweet thoughtful friend that were there for me just when I needed them. I gathered myself...and realized once again how invested this mama's heart is. I suppose those tears are something to be thankful for because they speak to the love that I have for these handsome boys.

We are still waiting for the update on where this change will lead us. For now...it has led to the CEO and another staff member from our adoption agency to travel to Haiti to lobby for accreditation. We will be sure to update this blog with the latest as soon as we hear it. We appreciate your prayers for peace as we wait for clarity. We would love to finish our adoption with Children of All Nations...please pray that this would be possible. We have had a great experience with them. If for some reason this is not possible...please pray that we are able to maintain our referral and will be able to transition to another agency in a smooth and seamless manner. Thank you so much for your love and support! We are so richly blessed!

Waiting for word,

Rebecca

Remaining Steps of the Process

We are still in the Parquet Court...but of course we are looking ahead to what is to come. Sometimes that is truly overwhelming. Here is a list of what is currently going on in our adoption process. THIS is why the process takes so long. There are SO many steps...we just need to keep our focus on the fact that the Lord is in control of our progress and each step forward is a step closer to being all together again!


Parquet Court
The 'step' we refer to as Parquet court is actually a very complex series of steps and processes involving
multiple offices and repeated trips between them.

1. Attorney addresses a Request for Judgment to the Chief Justice of Parquet Court
2. Birth parents are interviewed in Parquet Court
3. Parquet Court signs off on "approval judgement for adoption"
4. Facilitator takes approval to DGI for stamp of authorization
5. Back to Parquet for enforcement of the approval judgement
6. Authorization and redaction from the Civil Registrar Officer for legal Adoption Decree
7. Verification in Parquet of the adoption documents by the Civil Registrar before signing the
adoption decree
8. First Legalization of the Adoption Decree, in Parquet Court
9. Second Legalization of the Adoption Decree, at the Ministry of Justice
10. Third Legalization of the Adoption Decree, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
11. Obtain attestation of Adoption Decree from the National Archives

Ministry of the Interior (MOI)
All international adoption cases are reviewed by the Ministry of Interior. In order to obtain authorization
to request a passport, the following documents must be submitted for each child:

1. Four passport sized pictures
2. Birth Certificate
3. Attestation for the Birth Certificate
4. Extract from the National Archives for the Birth Certificate
5. Relinquishment
6. Process Verbal of adoption
7. Adoption approval judgement
8. Adoption Decree
9. Attestation of the Adoption Decree
10. Power of Attorney for creche director and/or attorney
11. Stamp from DGI
12. Notary letter for the passport
13. Identification card of facilitator and/or attorney on the case
14. Biological parents' identification cards
15. Adoptive parents' MOI form, identification, and passport phot

The Ministry of Interior will grant authorization to submit the dossier to Haitian Immigrations for a
passport.

Haitian Immigrations
The facilitator will submit authorization to apply for a passport to Haitian Immigrations. This is generally
a quick process - one to two weeks, if all equipment is working properly.

US Immigrations
US Immigrations performs the most rigorous investigation of international adoptions. Parts of the US Immigrations process can occur concurrently with the Haitian process, however USCIS
cannot sign off on the case until they have verified the final Adoption Decree and the child's passport.
DNA may be requested at any time. American families are advised to work closely with their agencies to ensure a smooth and efficient US Immigrations process for their child.

Approximately three to four weeks following completion of all USCIS investigations and adjudication of
the I600 for the child, the case will be forwarded to the Department of State for issuance of a Visa. The
Department of State also has the right to request DNA testing for birth parent and child. Adoptive
parents need not be present for the Visa appointment.

Parents who can prove that they visited their child prior to the issuance of the Adoption Decree by
Parquet Court will be issued an IR-3 Visa. Their children will be automatically granted full US Citizenship
upon arrival in the US.

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

REMAINING STEPS SUMMARY
Enter Parquet Court
Parquet Approval
1st legalization of the Adoption Decree by Parquet Court
2nd Legalization of the Adoption Decree by Ministry of Justice
3rd Legalization of the Adoption Decree by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Attestation from the National Archives
Adoption Decree Granted
Adoption Decree is reviewed by the Ministry of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior submits request for Passport
Passport issued by Haitian Immigrations
Boys get their physical exam
Visa issued by US Immigrations
Bring Elijah and Judah home
Elijah and Judah become US Citizens as soon as they get off the plane!

All legitimate adoptions must follow each one of these steps, and must do so under extremely difficult conditions. It is a shame that the process takes so long, and yet, when we look at the immensely complicated process, we must realize what a miracle it is when each child comes home. We have seen four families bring their children home in the last two months and about 10 additional families are piecing together the last few steps and will bring about 25 children home in the next 4-6 months. We are in the wave of families directly following them. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to have many hurdles to make it over!

Praying for patience,
Rebecca

Birth Parent Interview

I am happy to share a much belated message to let you all know that on December 3rd, 2012 Eli and Judah's birth dad was able to attend his USCIS appointment!! This appointment basically is the formal visit with the US Embassy in Haiti where the birth dad gives over his rights to the boys. From what we were told, there were no additional pieces of information that the birth dad needs to share with them at this time. We are hoping that there will be no further testing or hiccups with this portion of the process.

Since then, we have received an update that we are still in Parquet which is the Civil Court portion of the Haitian process. We are learning more and more all of the time about the process and the various stages that we are moving through. We still have several stages left yet but are hopeful that those stages will continue to move along steadily. I have to admit that we are hoping that the twins would be home with us this Christmas...but now I am realizing the unrealistic nature of that hope. Obviously God's plans were different. We settled into our new home in October of this year and now are busily preparing our home so when the twins do arrive, our home will be completely settled. That will enable us to focus on them entirely. I have to admit that I had some tough spots over the Christmas week because I was so hoping they would be home...but now the more realistic me is still calculating that it could take another 6-12 months more. For the most part, we have found peace in our waiting...it must be all of the prayers of those that love us. We can surely feel your prayers! (However, if the twins are not home by NEXT Christmas, I might need some counseling.)

We received our December updates on the boys and the message says that Judah is busy with walking, running and climbing! Not bad for 14 months old! She says this about Eli, "Wow! So active, likes to use his screeching voice while climbing!" I think that he will get along well with Aiden! The other information we received has to do with their measurements and I am compiling a list for weights and heights and head circumferences at these various stages. It is a little comical because the numbers fluctuate somewhat. They have different people measuring them each time...so the results are not always consistent...but overall...we see growth. I will convert them into pounds and inches to help me have a better picture of their size as well. This will be fun to look back on!

Here are the stats in kg and cm:

JUDAH            Weight (#-kg)                           Height (in-cm)                      Head Circumference (in-cm)
January                14.1-6.4                                  24.4-62                                      16.1-41
April                    14.1-6.4                                  24.6-62.5                                   16.3-41.5
May                     14.8-6.7                                 ---------                                      ---------
June                     18.7-8.5                                  24.8-63                                      16.9-43
July                      ---------                                  ---------                                      ---------
August                 18.5-8.4                                  26-66                                          17.7-45
Sept                     19.6-8.9                                  27-68.5                                       17.5-44.5
Oct                      20.5-9.3                                  26.4-67                                       18.1-46
Nov                     20.3-9.2                                  26.2-66.5                                    18.1-46
Dec                      21.8-9.9                                  29.5-75                                      19.1-48.5


ELIJAH            Weight (#-kg)                           Height (in-cm)                       Head Circumference (in-cm)
January              13.2-6                                      23.4-59.5                                      16.3-41.5
April                  14.3-6.5                                   23.2-59                                         16.3-41.5
May                   16.1-7.3                                  ---------                                         ---------
June                   17.6-8.                                    24.6-62.5                                       16.9-43
July                     ---------                                   ---------                                       ----------
August                19.4-8.8                                 26.2-66.5                                       17.7-45
Sept                    19.4-8.8                                 27.2-69                                          17.5-44.5
Oct                     18.7-8.5                                  26-66                                            18.1-46
Nov                    20.3-9.2                                  26.4-67                                         18.3-46.5
Dec                     22.0-10                                   29.1-74                                         18.9-48

We learned a bit about the Haitian Christmas traditions in our last newsletter from the orphanage. It is a tradition in Haiti to share Christmas cards with friends and family...many of which are hand made. They also use pine branches to serve as Christmas trees. They decorate them with lights and bright ornaments. They usually have a large nativity placed at the base of the tree. An endearing tradition of Christmas in Haiti is that on Christmas Eve, the children place their cleaned up shoes filled with straw on the porch or under the Christmas tree for Papa Noel (Santa Claus) to fill with presents. People often go to midnight mass and sing Christmas carols.

I do think that it helped us to move through the Christmas season knowing that we have a Haiti trip in the near future. A few months ago, we were approached by our pastor, and he was arranging for a mission trip for our church to take and he requested that we join the group. We struggled for a short while trying to figure out the funding and if we should have Craig go along with the church and I separately travel down to see the boys on my own or with a friend. I just didn't have peace about this and after much prayer, we have been able to arrange for both of us to travel down to Haiti with our church group from Abiding. We will be with Mission Haiti for one week and then will travel back to Port-au-Prince where we will stay a short distance from the orphanage and be able to go spend the day with the boys for three consecutive days.

We won't be able to take the boys home with us to the hotel as we did last time because the timing of our trip does not coincide with a bonding trip, but we are excited to be able to spend more time at the orphanage and to see them in their normal environment. It will be special to get to know some of the nannies more and to see the boys interact with the other little ones in their baby room. I think that it will give us the opportunity to chronicle their early lives a bit better than the short snippets we saw at the orphanage the first time we traveled to see them.

By the time we get down there to see the boys, it will have been 8 months since the last visit. I can't believe how much time has passed and how much my heart longs to cuddle with my sweet boys. Please pray that we would have an incredible time bonding with the boys despite being unable to take them home with us to the hotel each evening. Please pray for patience as we continue to move forward with the Civil Court portion of the adoption. Please pray for health for the twins, the other kids at the orphanage, the staff at the orphanage and for us as we travel to and from Haiti. We have heard more reports of Dengue Fever and Cholera and know that they are very real and affecting many in this area. Please also pray for protection spiritually as we prepare to travel for missions. It is amazing how those who travel to do the work of the Lord find themselves under attack spiritually.

I cannot begin to tell you all how much we are relying on your prayers and words of encouragement. We are so thankful for our supportive friends and family.

Humbly in His service,
Rebecca

Exiting IBESR...Finally!!! Hello Parquet!

Craig indicated that we had some additional information...and I will try to share exactly what is going on now. I was out on a walk in the afternoon of November 1st with the dog and I got a call from CAN. Kristy informed us that she had received information that we had exited IBESR (part of the Haiti government's adoption agency)! Praise God! We are moving on to the next step in the process. There are still many steps left to go as I indicated in the last blog...but one more is done and that means so much to us! So now we will begin the Parquet portion of the process. (Pronounced Parkay :) Like the margarine!) Please continue to pray for us that the patience would be ongoing through this process.

Please also pray in earnest this week as we try to finalize plans for a combined Mission-Haiti.org mission trip along with a visit to see the boys in February or March for both Craig and I. Pray for God to move mountains so this will work. Two flights to Haiti is much less expensive than four if we can combine the two trips!!! If we cannot do this, we will likely have to divide up and head to Haiti separately. I will go to see the boys and Craig will go on the Mission trip. We would love to do BOTH TOGETHER.  I just can't imagine how bittersweet it would be to hold my boys without Craig there to do the same. My heart hurts just thinking about it. I would also be heartbroken not to get to see the kiddos at Mission-Haiti.org. So...please pray. We will update when we know what we are able to arrange. God is so powerful...but I must believe that His timing and plan is always greater than my own.

Thank you for your continued prayers...we can definitely feel them!

Praising a God that manages the details!
Rebecca

We Have Dispensation!!

We will write about our latest news soon (we were called today (11.1.12) by our agency letting us know that our paperwork is out of IBESR!), but first we need to post the below update written a few days ago.   :)

(Written 10.27.12)

We are pleased to announce to all of those following our adoption that we have had some great news in the last week! On October 23, 2012 we found out that our dispensation had been signed by the President of Haiti! Hallelujah! That is such fabulous news. This is the one glitch that stood in the way of our adoption.

For those of you wondering what a dispensation is....well in order to adopt from Haiti, there are several requirements. We met all of the requirements with the exception of one. We were supposed to have no more than two biological children. Turns out...the Lord has blessed us with three but we were still feeling called to adopt from Haiti. So, up to this point, we have been on a total trust walk. We are many emotions and several dollars into the adventure, and we were fully relying on Him to pull this off. There was a very real chance that the President of Haiti could have decided not to sign the dispensation. Praise God he did! Whew!

We are relieved to know that we are through this step, but unfortunately the road continues to be long. We are still technically in IBESR which is only one portion of the process. After IBESR we will move into Parquet Court, 1st Legalization by the Parquet Court, 2nd Legalization by Ministry of Justice, 3rd Legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attestation from the National Archives, several reviews, the adoption decree will be granted, the passports will be submitted for, a physical exam will be completed, the Visa will be issued and THEN THE BOYS WILL COME HOME. They will be citizens as soon as they get off the plane. Until that time...we wait....and wait...and continue to estimate that it will be another 6-12 months as we still don't have an end in sight.

Amazingly, the Lord has lifted our spirits and we are still doing well despite the waiting game. I feel like we have been given an extra dose of patience and pray that it will continue. We moved into our new home on the boys' first birthday, October 5, 2012 and have been busy getting settled in. We hope to have some sense of order by the time the boys arrive so we can adapt to twin toddlers as smoothly as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to nest in preparation.

We have also been excitedly preparing to potentially head back to Haiti to see the boys. We weren't sure when we would be able to travel back...but through some amazing generosity and the request for us to accompany a group from our church on a mission team going to work at Mission-Haiti.org, we will likely be traveling to Haiti at the end of February and beginning of March. We couldn't be more excited to accompany them on the trip and of course to see the boys!!! We are trying to put the pieces together and are still waiting for confirmation. Please pray for all of the decisions and for the Lord's will to be done in all of this.

Thank you for your continued prayers. I truly believe that it is by your prayers alone that we are doing as well as we are with this waiting process. We love you and hope that you enjoy the most recent photos and stats of the boys!


Elysee (Judah Elysee)
Weight: 9.30 kg (20.5 lbs)
Height: 67 cm (26.3 in)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (18.1 in)

Ellie (Elijah James)
Weight: 8.5 kg (18.7 lbs)
Height: 66 cm (25.9 in)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (18.1 in)

Judah Elysee (Elysee)

Elijah James (Ellie)

Blessings to each of you,
Rebecca

On the President's Desk!!!

We got a new update on the boys on August 20th, 2012. It had the most recent measurements for the boys. The results are as follows:
Elie (Elijah)
Weight (kg): 8.80
Height (cm): 66.50
Head Circumference (cm): 45
Chicken Pox: i think he had it while his parents were here

Elysee (Judah)
Weight (kg): 8.40
Height (cm): 66.0
Head Circumference (cm): 45
Chicken Pox: no, but had a few; not a full breakout

It is always so nice to get the monthly updates. It is nice to know that they are growing...but it would be more wonderful to be there holding them! Hmmm...and even more wonderful to be HERE holding them!!!! I can't believe how empty my arms feel sometimes...crazy, because they are usually filled with one of my other children!

Every year over Labor Day Weekend, we spend our time at the LifeLight Christian Music Festival as a family. This year was spent with three of our five children and several of our friends. It was a wonderful time of feeling close to the Lord and a blessed time of worship through music. This year, Craig and I often found ourselves near to tears because of the rawness that we are feeling about the adoption. This entire experience is so bittersweet. We are so excited about what the future will hold for our family...but this waiting is a greater challenge than I even expected.

When Leeland got up on stage and sang Follow You, we were unable to keep ourselves from tears. This was the song that came out shortly before my trip to Haiti and I listened to it every day while I was there on my Mission trip. Now that we have traveled to Haiti and spent time with the boys, the song makes me think of my boys and how much I long to be with them. The tears on Craig's face indicated that he felt the same way.

We shared with several of our friends that we were struggling that sometimes it feels like we are stuck in a stage of the process for so long...that we fear that things won't continue to move forward. It is especially difficult when we look at the entire process and see that there are so many steps left to go.

Just when we were beginning to feel overwhelmed with the process...we received an update! God is so good. We received an email on Tuesday, September 4th updating us on the stage we are in at IBESR (Haitian government adoption process). "I am so pleased to give you an IBESR update on  your file! It has been confirmed that your file is waiting for Dispensation in the President's Office. I am hoping to receive more details about the date it arrived to the President's Office soon."

This means that our paperwork is seriously sitting on the president of Haiti's desk waiting to be signed. A law for Haiti adoption states that you can't have more than 2 biological children when adopting from Haiti. The Dispensation is a document that gives us permission to adopt the twins despite the fact that we have three biological children.

We wrote to Kristy at CAN to clarify what part of the IBESR process the Dispensation gets signed to determine if we are close to the end of this stage and she wrote back, "Generally yes, Presidential Dispensation is the last step before IBESR issues approval. The Presidential Dispensations are printed in the Le Moniteur publication and then after publication IBSER is able to grant approval. I am not 100% certain this is for every single case but for most families they exit IBESR after receiving their Presidential Dispensation." This is encouraging! We are moving in the right direction! Now we just need to find the patience to continue moving through this slow process.

So....we are busy trying to distract ourselves. We have been in the process of building our home and have been watching as piece by piece the house is coming together. We are thrilled that we are getting so close to moving time...and amazed at God's perfect timing of having the closing on the house on the twins' birthday! It will be so special to move in and create the nest for these two little ones!

Please pray that everything goes smoothly with the process at IBESR, and that the adoption and house will move forward...and quickly if that is God's will! We have been so blessed with such amazing support on this journey and thank each of you for your love and prayers! We can feel them!

Blessings,
Rebecca

Speechless...

It has already been several months since we last wrote. I think that if I wait much longer to try to piece my thoughts together...I will inevitably miss several key points. The last we shared with you, we had just returned from our incredible trip to Haiti as a family. Our return home was smooth and painful all at the same time. The regular day to day events continued as prior to our trip...but the heart-rending separation that we felt was very powerful. One of the most difficult parts of being home was not knowing when we would be able to return.

Elijah

Shortly after returning home from Haiti, we discovered that the International Adoption Counselor, Erin, that had traveled with us to Haiti was no longer with CAN. We still don't know what happened, but this was the second counselor transition in less than a year. Needless-to-say...this created a hiccup in the communication process between the orphanage, the agency and us. We had a couple of emails, but we didn't hear anything directly from the agency for almost two months. We received a short update on the boys immediately upon our return with some adorable photos on it, but then nothing....transition is hard.

Judah

We spent most of the days following our trip praying that all would go well with the Birth Parent Interview that was scheduled on June 27th. This is where the birth dad tells the US Embassy that his intent is for his boys to be given up for adoption. That they are truly orphans. We also spent our time hoping that the documents that had been missing when we went to the US Embassy would be able to work their way into the hands that needed them. We also were learning more about the process now that our paperwork was into IBESR (Haiti Government Process) and the USCIS (US Embassy/Government Process) portion of our process had also begun. I have found some timelines that I hope to have Craig include onto the blog in the future. I am the emotion behind the blog and he is the brains... I need him to attach the information. Once we do...it will give everyone a chance to look at all of the steps that are still coming. So often we get the question...."Why does it take so long..." I think that seeing the process listed down might give all of us a better picture of why the process is so lengthy. My hope is to then keep the list updated with the dates that those portions of the process have been completed! Our own timeline!

Scranton Street

 We found the month of July full of distractions...we were in the middle of trying to sell a home and build another one with more rooms to accommodate our growing family and give the kids more room to play outside. We were busily trying to keep our home on Scranton Street pristine so we could show it at the drop of a hat and at the same time making dozens of late night decisions for the home we were building on Paddington Trail. It was a busy time...which in many ways was good.

Paddington Trail

Even in the crazy paced process of building...we were stopped in our tracks and thoroughly disappointed when we found out that the boys birth dad did not make it to his US Embassy appointment. We still don't know why...but we received an email on July 18th rescheduling him for August 7. We forwarded the message on to the international agency but never heard anything back. To our knowledge, this was all that we had to do...wait.

Elijah and Judah

Each month there is a team of families that travel down to Haiti. I didn't think about this much beforehand but when the date arrived that the July team was leaving for their trip, I found myself tearful much of the day. My heart was broken and all that I could think of was my boys. Praise God that I have three beautiful children here in Sioux Falls that I could love on in the meantime. We are just really looking forward to the time when we will have our arms filled with five little ones! We were very blessed though because one of the other moms that was on the trip was generous enough to include a photo of each boy. We were surprised to see that they had had their first haircuts!!! Wish I could have been there for that! That is scrapbooking material!

In the midst of waiting...there were more questions that cropped up. We found out that Haiti is likely going to be changing its adoption laws. (Read the Hague Convention Update toward the bottom of our orphanage's news webpage if you'd like: http://forhisgloryoutreach.org/whats-new) Nothing is done yet, but we are waiting for the information to be clarified. Even the adoption agencies are not sure what to say regarding this...but it might mean changes to the ability to visit our children, have contact with the orphanage or with the staff at the orphanage. Please pray that things go smoothly with this transition if it does come to pass and that it won't be as limiting as everyone fears. Please also pray that the pace of the adoptions will pick up as it seems that some of the glitches in the system might be starting to be fixed (hopefully).

On August 13th, I was at work and received a call from a number that was strange looking and said DC next to it. I don't typically answer personal calls at work and at first thought...nope...better not. But then I thought...that is so weird...DC? So I answered and thank goodness I did. It was the US Embassy in Haiti calling to ask why we had never messaged them back after receiving their email and wondering why the boys' birth dad did not attend his appointments. She informed me that he had missed his August 7th appointment as well. I felt my heart fall and a lump begin to form. She was being very confrontational and I really didn't have any great answers for her..."I didn't know that we were supposed to message you back." "I am really sorry but I have not been informed of the reason that he did not attend the appointments." "I haven't heard anything from our international agency." It was very overwhelming.

I hate to say it...but I had some very frustrated and even angry thoughts about having been put in that position. We had sent emails to CAN and even had called them but never got a return call or message. So...I decided now was the time to call them. I put in a message to Kristi, the new adoption counselor and then called back to talk to the secretary to make sure that he would notify Kristi of the need to call back today. She called back within the hour. We talked for quite some time and she really did put my worries to rest. She apologized for not calling back sooner. She thought she had already returned the call. I decided that she must be having some difficulties transitioning with all of the families wrapped up in their emotions...it must be a difficult job. I felt much better..

That night after returning home, we decided to look through the mail and were thoroughly blown away and continued to be blown away every day for about the next week. Someone (we still don't know who) somehow connected with people from our family, our church, and our past encouraging people to send us words of encouragement and love gifts to help with our return trip to Haiti. We received anywhere between 2 and 4 letters each day and the tender messages brought us to tears repeatedly. (especially me) I still tear up when I think about it. This has been a tough journey...a blessed one...but tough...and there is nothing like being lifted up by those that love you and those that you respect. We are so blessed with wonderful people in our lives.

The next day, August 14th, the whirlwind began! I am not sure how else to describe it...emotional...but all wonderful!!! I got a call from Craig in the late afternoon and he shared that we received an offer on the house! It took some negotiating, but we were able to come to an agreement and we sold our home to a young couple that have no contingency and are flexible with their closing date timeline, which allows us to move from one home directly to the other!!! Our God is so faithful! We had been praying for Him to make the transition smooth! He did just that!

Eli and Angie (the US Orphanage Director)

Then later that day, I got a phone call from the international agency, CAN. I was a little nervous at first...but realized it was a good call. Kristi called to tell me that Elijah had taken his first steps earlier that day!! Praise God for this little mover and shaker. He was climbing all over everything and standing up and taking steps along furniture when we were in Haiti in June...we were anticipating an early walker. On August 14th he was only 10 months and 9 days old! What a big boy! I am sure Judah is not far behind.

We also received an email informing us that the next attempt at the birth dad's visit to the US Embassy would be on October 1, 2012. So please, please pray that the agency and orphanage will be able to find him and get him to that appointment. This will help the US portion of the process go much smoother.

So...we are feeling very blessed about right now. Humbled beyond belief and crazy in love with this God that loves us so much that He works out even the tiniest details. We were filled with joy when the closing on the houses was scheduled for October 5th. OF COURSE it would be October 5th. Yes, God IS in the details! That is the twins' birthday. We can't spend the day with them, but we can spend the day preparing a home for them.

Thank you so much for all of the prayers that you all send up to the Lord on our behalf. We feel your prayers! We have been remarkably strong, patient, and trusting through this process. I know that this does not come from me. I am not wired to be strong, patient or trusting. This is all of the Lord's doing! I know that He is hearing our prayers, and your prayers, and He is faithful!

Please continue to pray. Pray for effective communication with the adoption agency, orphanage and governmental processes. Pray for the birth dad's appointment to go well. Pray for peace and contentment in this time of waiting. Pray that we can identify a time to travel to see the boys again. Pray for their health and our health. Pray for the country of Haiti as the poverty is overwhelming. Pray for the Lord's loving hand to come to their aide through the hands and feet of His people. Pray for continued encouragement along the way!

Blessings to all of you...time for rest.
Love, Rebecca
(Link to Photos from our June trip)